Monday, 2 September 2013

so for me summer has officially ended as i go back to school tomorrow *cries* and i'm not looking forward to it, one bit. but on the bright side, i've had a really chilled and relaxed summer, and here are the things that i have loved throughout august.

nyx smokey eyes palette:i've been out quite a few times in august (birthdays etc.) so to make myself feel a bit more glam, i've loved a smokey eye. usually i'm not that confident when it come to bold make-up but this palette has very pigmented dark and light shades, so if your like me, it perfect to do a subtle and daring smokey eye.

benefit's they're real mascara:i started to use this at the end of july and have reached for it every time in august, if you would like to see it in use check out my blog post here where i used it in a make-up look.

ciate paint pots in my fair lady: i actually received this in a marie claire magazine about 2 years ago, but i've recently started to wear it again and find it is the perfect nude polish for me! its is quite sheer but after two coats it is thick enough.

garnier summer body moisturiser:this is a perfect tinted moisturiser that is quick and simple and isn't orange or muddy coloured at all. also it smells gorgeous!

maybelline baby lips in pink punch: after waiting, for what feels like decades i have officially love baby lips, totally worth the hype! this is my favourite shade and if you want to know more, i reviewed them here.

photowonder app:this is my favourite editing app at the moment! it has super pretty filters and also allows you to create collages and decorate photos! plus its free!

Sunday, 1 September 2013

since i started my blog, i had noticed that many other bloggers had been nominated for the liebster awards, and always secretly wished i had been too! so when i was reading my comments yesterday, i was thrilled to see that the gorgeous Tatyana from Tanya Doodle had nominated me, *jumps in joy*

so basically what the liebster award is for bloggers with under 200 follower, which is a way for new bloggers to meet new people and to get more followers. in order to accept your nomination, you need to follow these rules:

You must link back the person who nominated you

You must answer the 10 Liebster questions given to you by the nominee before you

You must pick several bloggers to be nominated for the award with under 200 followers

You must come up with 10 questions for your nominees to answer

You must go to their blogs and notify your nominees

i'll start with the ten questions:

what's your favourite make-up brand?

i don't think i've actually found my absolute favourite make-up brand yet, but i have certain brands that i go to for specific items; for example, i usually get my foundation, concealer, powder and mascara from maybelline, nail polish from rimmel, eyeshadow from mac.

what is the most expensive thing you own?

i'm guessing this is meant to be make-up or fashion wise, if so my most expensive is either my mac eyeshadow quad or my giorgio armani maestro silk foundation.

favourite clothes shop?

i would have to say that my favourite clothes shop is tk maxx. nearly my whole wardrobe is clothes from tk maxx and i can always find great clothes for really good prices!

name one beauty product you couldn't live without.

mascara, hands down. if i was only allowed to wear one product for the rest of my life i would definitely choose mascara. i feel it just opens my eyes and always gives me a bit more confidence.

what made you first start blogging?

it actually wasn't too long ago, so i am relatively new to the blogging 'world'. i started it as a summer project to do but my love has grown for it. zoella had always inspired me and i think i just finally got the confidence to start one.

what is your blog about and why did you pick that theme?

i chose to do a beauty and fashion blog as i have always been interested in both of these topics and thought why not to share my love for them with others!

who is your favourite blogger?

even though i love zoella's blog, i would have to say that my favourite blogger is The Sunday Girl, she post's daily about make-up and beauty, and her posts are always so helpful and i immediately want everything she reviews.

who is your inspiration?

my fashion inspiration would have to be olivia palermo and miranda kerr. both of their styles is very relaxed but classy and always in fashion. they are both so gorgeous and always wish to buy the exact outfit they wear!

what is your favourite TV show?

i watch a lot of american rubbish (as my parents love to call it), such as; honey boo boo, real housewives and keeping up with the kardashians (wouldn't you love to be in their family?! *sigh*). however, i also love csi which sadly has just finished their recent series, that ended on such a cliffhanger!

dresses or jeans?

tough question! in summer and spring i am totally a dress person but when it comes to winter and autumn i love my jeans!

Monday, 26 August 2013

As autumn is soon approaching, i thought it would only be appropriate to share with you the nail trends for fall this year. Seen recently on many runways including Nicole Miller, Karen Walker and Fendi, black is back as it creates a chic and classy look, that will go with any outfit.

I tried to recreate this nail look that was seen on Hughes models at their latest fashion shows, showcasing their fall/winter 2013 collection.

This nail look is cute and classy and slightly more interesting than paining the whole nail. Being a very easy tutorial it is right up my alley as i struggle at painting nails and am very impatient, haha! I first saw how to do the half-moon nails on pinterest a few months ago, which you can find here, and it is a fool-proof method which is why it makes these nails so easy to complete.

Simply just paint a nude polish over all the nails, cover up the base of the nail with half of a paper-hole reinforcement once the nude polish has completely dried, then paint over the remaining nail with the black polish and apply top coat afterwards.

I love this look and will be wearing it a lot during the autumn! It will also look great if you used different colours as the base; white, maroon or even a bright colour for a pop!

Friday, 16 August 2013

After a couple of weeks of continuously searching Boots and Superdrug, I have finally managed to get hold of some Baby Lips. In excitement, I immediately took advantage of the 3 for 2 on all maybelline products, and picked up Cherry Me, Pink Punch and Hydrate.

Also consequently I have been getting dry lips (typical in summer, I know?!) so what more perfect time to test and review Baby Lips. After the hype of these products I did have high expectation and thankfully they definitely live up to them! Firstly, they smell delicious; Hydrate smells of sherbet lemons (my favourite boiled sweets!), Pink punch smells of strawberries and sweets and Cherry Me smells of glacé cherries (which I personally don't like but when on your lips you can't smell it.) Secondly, they are so silky and smooth and truly moisturise your lips. Cherry Me and Pink Punch do have a slight tint in the product; deep pink and a baby pink. These are only tints and not vibrant colours but are still slightly visible once on the lips.

Overall I highly recommend them and they moisturise and glide on your lips so silkily. Also not to mention the total adorable packaging! They retail at £2.99 each so grab 'em whilst on offer to get one for free!

After lusting over all the new products that have been bought out recently, I put together a beauty wishlist of all the beauty products that I have been craving. I've been wanting to try a couple of these products for a while so I thought I'd include these as well. As school is soon on the horizon, I feel that most of these product will also be perfect for school; nude glossy lips, perfect skin, cute, quick wavy hair and pastel nails!

I also apoligise for the lack of posts recently but I'll be posting more before school starts again. Any requests?

Wednesday, 7 August 2013

Pure is a fashion trade exhibition which is for fashion industry buyers to buy items from companies, for the upcoming season. To broadcast the new season trends, Pure is held twice a year, in February and August at London Olympia.

Above are some pictures I took of the fashion shows that were held to present the trends, using clothes from the companies at the exhibition. Sorry for the bad quality of the photos, I had to use my phone as our camera has broke.

After, we decided to jump on a couple tubes (which was my first ever time going on tubes) to Harrod's and have a quick browse around the store.

fishes in the pet section, wouldn't the colour of this fish make a gorgeous nail polish colour!

the biggest and most delicious-looking meringues i have ever seen, yummm

quick snap of a ridiculously overcrowded tube that we got on

a well deserved vanilla milkshake after sprinting to our train as we got on the wrong one, then sprinting back as my mum left her phone on the wrong train then realising our 'correct' train left, ugh, it was tiring and way too hot

Friday, 2 August 2013

Whilst flicking through instagram yesterday, I saw that Claire from Beauty & le Chic posted a photo of Elle magazine, September edition with a great freebie that I have been interested in for a while. So, when mum offered to buy me a magazine earlier today, I jumped to the chance and picked up the last one in the store!

This issue features upcoming autumn/winter trends, new beauty products and the gorgeous Katy Perry talking about her life with past and present lovers. Also, it comes with a 50ml bottle of the Bumble & Bumble thickening hairspray, that's usually worth £7.50 and a 60 page Elle Accessories magazine, with everything you need to know about the in-season shoes and jewellery.

Sunday, 28 July 2013

I love wearing golden tones as I feel it really makes my brown eyes 'pop'. I always get complimented on this look and I really like it as well. To achieve this I mainly used the Jemma Kidd Artist Kit Pro Palette 02, as my concealer I used the apricot colour corrector to cover my dark under eye circles. I also used my 17 BB Cream in light to cooverr discolouration on my cheeks and nose (they are always redder than the rest of my face!?). I like using this combination in the summer as the are both very light products that provide the coverage I need, and it never feels like I'm wearing face make up at all.

From the palette, I used the eye prep & primer over my eyelids, to ensure the eye shadows would stay in place. To provide a coloured base, I swiped the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils in Gold (on the inner half of my eyelids) and Bronze (on the outer half of my eyelids), and just blended these out with my fingers. For eye shadow I started with the Eye Essentials Shimmer Shadow in Brulee all over the lids, and the Tailored Colour I-Ris Enhancer in Bronze in the crease ( both from the Jemma Kidd palette.) Also, from the palette, I used the Exclusive Shadow in Cream on the inner corners of the eyes, to give the eyes a brighter look.

I used MAC Woodwinked to make the look subtly smoky and blended it out and placed MAC Blanc Type on the brow bone. I used the Gold Jumbo Pencil to line my lower lash line, and a black kohl eye liner from 17 to line my upper lash line. I then curled my lashes and applied two coats of the Benefit They're Real Mascara, to add length and volume. For this look I didn't fill in my brows as I wanted the main focus on the glowy skin and golden eyes.

The palette has a Dewy Glow Radiance Crème in Rose Gold which I applied with my fingers to my cheek bones. I also sweeped Bourjois blusher in Sienne over the apples of my cheeks. To contour I used my all-time favourite contour/bronzer; Sleek's Face Contour Kit in light and also carried some up to my temples, to make my skin look more naturally tanned as it has no shimmer or glitter in the product.

For the lips, I kept it a natural pink, with Rimmel's Vinyl Gloss in Steal my Kisses, which I amazingly picked up from Poundland! I love this gloss as its not sticky, and smells of sweets as well!

Saturday, 27 July 2013

In our house, we never have any luck when baking cakes. They just never seem to rise or become light and fluffy. So, today I thought I would try a new recipe that may turn out to look like a 'stereotypical' cake.

2. Combine all the cake ingredients in a large bowl. Beat well until smooth.

3. Divide trhe mixture equally into the prepared tins and level the surfaces. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°c (160°c fan, Gas 4) for about 25 minutes or until it is well risen, golden and springy to the touch.

4. Turn out onto a wire rack, peel off the lining paper, and leave to cool.

5. Sandwich the 2 cakes together with jam and butter cream and sprinkle the top of the cake with caster sugar.

It didn't end up looking the best cake in the world, but don't judge a book by it's cover, scrummy.

After the main cake was finished, we also made a bunch of chocolate cupcakes as well!

makes 12

Ingredients:

175 g of soft butter or margarine

175 g of caster sugar

3 eggs

115 g of self-raising flour

1 rounded tsp of baking powder

40g of cocoa powder

4 tbsp of boiling water

A tub of Betty Crocker Chocolate Icing

Small treats to decorate

1. Line one 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases. Sift the cocoa powder into a bowl, pour in the boiling water, and mix into a thick paste. Add the remaining ingredients and mix with an electric whisk.

2. Divide the mixture evenly among the 12 paper cases. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°c (180°c fan, Gas 6) for about 10 minutes until well risen and springy to touch. Cool in the cases on a wire rack.

3. When cool, spread the icing over the cakes and sprinkle on decorations, we used small honeycomb pieces and white chocolate stars.

As some of our cupcakes sunk after we took them out of the oven, we doubled them up by icing one the placing another on top. Double the fun!